Spring semester - April 26th, 2009

I am delighted with how many students are attending the notereading sessions prior to the Sinfonietta rehearsals & it is really making a difference. Students are showing major improvement & it is evident in the rehearsals. While I donate my time to run the notereading sessions & write the blog, I sometimes think that these things have the power to make the greatest difference for most of the students.


Sinfonietta:

NOTE READING HELP AVAILABLE EVERY SUNDAY:
3.10pm LOUNGE (CS ROOM)
BRING BINDER

-Satie Gymnopodie-this piece still requires a great amount of work to make it performance ready. Based on the poll taken of the students, most desire to perform this piece in our concert. There are alot of counting errors & pitch problems-it is "pitchy" as Randy from American Idol would say. This piece will NOT work if there are lots of intonation errors as the chords will not make any musical sense. Students must practice clapping & counting the rhythms as well as working with a tuner to check that each note is the correct pitch. It would be very helpful if students could take this piece to their teachers this week.
-German Dance-I am pleased that this piece is holding together. The bass solo must be much louder & in tempo; everyone must play the 2 quarter note + quarter rest pattern gently; 1st violins must make sure that they are doing the correct bowings on the 1/8th notes.
-Kesh Jig-this is a big week for the violas & bass! I must see huge improvement in your playing of the tune line or you will not get to do this part in the concert. I would really like to focus on you as usually you are playing the accompaniment & this would give you a chance to shine playing the tune, but if you cannot do it well then I will unfortunately have to cut this part out.

Sinfonia:

-Fairly Fugal-I have to say that I am quite stunned with the improvement in the 2nd violins from last week. Due to the difficulty of this piece I am going to bring in some reinforcements from the Concert Strings to help out but it was very clear that everyone had worked incredibly hard on their parts. The piece is now holding together & we were able to work on increasing the tempo. It is essential that everyone continues to clap & count with the metronome & practice playing small sections starting slowly & gradually increasing the tempo. I would like you to aim for 1/4 note=70 for this week.
-Vivaldi-it was interesting to return to this today after a break from rehearsing it... It seems that students only practice what is rehearsed on Sundays, despite the fact that every week I have specifically requested that this be looked at. This piece is deceptively simple. While the notes are easy to play, getting everyone to play with the same bow stroke & style & getting perfect intonation from everyone requires practice with the metronome & tuner. This must receive detailed practice even if you think that you can already play it.
-Ash Grove-the cellos must play their part gently & the 1st violins need to work on the break to fix the rhythm & bowings.

This was a great week of work. Please keep it up.
Thanks, Louise :)

Reminders re upcoming dates

Of course none of you need a reminder about the following as you all read the announcements & follow the calendar....
But just in case....

Sunday 12th April - NO REHEARSAL

Sunday 19th April - special workshop with hip-hop influenced violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain
Sinfonietta rehearsal 2.45-3.45pm
ALL STUDENTS 4-5pm workshop
Sinfonia rehearsal 5.15-6.30ishpm - I may keep people longer depending on how successful the rehearsal is...

Spring semester - April 5th, 2009

Please remember that at this point in our schedule leading up to the concert, we must be practicing ALL of the music EVERY week.

Sinfonietta:

NOTE READING HELP AVAILABLE EVERY SUNDAY:
3.10pm LOUNGE (CS ROOM)
BRING BINDER
-I am SO pleased with the students who have been attending the note reading sessions. I am seeing a lot of progress!!

-Kesh Jig-this is coming together nicely & will sound good in the concert. I would like the violas/bass to work hard on the tune part. Please focus on the following sections: vln 1 work on the break line, especially on the 2nd half; vln 2/vla learn the notes of the tune line on the 2nd half.
-Satie Gymnopodie-this is a challenging piece for this group but I know that we can play this well if we do focused practice. Here are the spots needing special attention: vln 2 work on m13-16; vln 1 & vln 2 concentrate on the bowings of m13-15; vla & vcl focus on the notes & bowings m14-16.
-German Dance-keep working on this.

Sinfonia:

-Fairly Fugal-we worked on a few sections in the way that I would like everyone to practice at home. We clapped & counted, played & counted, played it slowly & gradually increased the tempo. I feel hopeful about this piece-it is certainly sounding much better this week.
-Ash Grove-everyone is playing this well. We listened to a recording that Sophia brought in & the tempo is pretty fast. Vln 1 students need to concentrate on the break line & the 16th notes.
-Vivaldi Concerto-keep practicing this so that all of the details are learnt when we rehearse it again.
-research Erik Satie & fill in composer sheet.

This was a good rehearsal!!
Louise :)